A contemporary anarcho-socialist woman

NYPD

A trans woman says that when she was arrested for a minor subway violation, NYPD officers belittled her, called her names, asked about her genitals — and kept her chained to a fence for 28 hours. Now she’s suing. And it turns out she’s far from alone.

…She also says officers not only refused to call her “she,” they instead referred to her as “He-She”, “Faggot,” and “Lady GaGa,” and asked her “So you like to suck dick? Or what?” Meanwhile, people arrested for the same minor crime (misdemeanor “theft of services”) she was were calmly processed and allowed to leave.

At least the woman who experienced this treatment, Temmie Breslauer, is standing up, speaking out, and of course suing.

In the wake of the outrageous murder of Troy Davis, on Saturday the NYPD violently attacked the Occupy Wall Street protesters for doing nothing but taking to the streets against racism, unemployment and bank bailouts. The
latest word is they will not be released until tomorrow.

With the police arresting over a hundred people, the anti-Wall Street demonstration ended a week where it was made crystal clear that the so-called justice system exists for oppressing, intimidating and silencing the people – killing us if need be – while the real criminals go free.

Carrying signs that said, “Justice For Troy Davis,” and “Jobs and Justice, not War and Racism,” the Occupy Wall Street protesters held a dynamic protest that started at Zucotti Park, went to the stock exchange, then
charged up Broadway to Union Square.

No sooner did protesters start up Broadway than the NYPD began picking off people to arrest, one by one. Many were tackled as they were simply walking in the march.

After the demostration started back south from Union Square, the police moved violently to shut the protest down: bloodying people’s heads, macing people in the face and using gigantic orange nets to seal off 12th Street between University Street and Fifth Avenue and arresting people en masse.

As the cops loaded people into an MTA bus – commandeered by the NYPD for the sole purpose of mass arrests – protesters chanted, “Let them go,” and “Cops serve the billionaires!”

The suffering caused by Wall Street and the for-profit system – whether through unemployment, foreclosure or the racist prison-industrial complex – has forced people onto the streets this week in cities all over the country.

This is what the start of a peoples’ movement looks like. But it is in its infancy. The police, media and courts will continue to harass and attack us while the balance of forces – i.e., how many people we have on our side and what they have on theirs – is in their favor.

Come to Zucotti Park at Broadway and Liberty Street in downtown Manhattan! We need forces! The more who join this dynamic campaign against the banks and billionaires, the more we will be able to defend this growing movement.

Call your friends, get whatever group you belong to involved, and stay tuned to the Occupy Wall Street Facebook page for updates on how to pack the court and support those who were arrested.

“Hispanic is not a race, ” said [activist and blogger Carlos A.] Quiroz, whose ancestors were the Quechua people, of the Central Andes. “Hispanic is not a culture. Hispanic is an invention by some people who wanted to erase the identity of indigenous communities in America.”

Sarah Nyakuoth William

South Sudan war widow: ‘I will have a country at last’
On the occasion of South Sudan’s independence from the Republic of Sudan, Sarah Nyakuoth William said, “I knew we’d get here in the end, but I didn’t know if I would ever see the day. Finally the day is here. I’m happy, happy for the future for my children, and all of South Sudan.”

Under the new requirements, the three remaining clinics in the state would have to make enormous structural changes to their buildings and obtain new certifications in just two weeks or face possible closure.

Lawsuit pending!

NYPD Celebrates Gay Pride by Raiding a Gay Bar Minutes After Gay Marriage Victory
The Eagle patron Christopher J. Borras said, “I find interesting the timing. I would just like to know from the police: `Why did they do that?’ To me, it is a blatant sign of intimidation and harassment, I mean, 42 years after the Stonewall riots and we still have to live in fear of the police disturbing our quiet enjoyment of life?”

Ah yes, the issue of ‘random’ stops and searches. One of my faves. Nope, no racial profiling here! If the following story bothers you, just repeat “Post-Racial! Post-Racial! Post-Racial!” until you feel better.

The NYPD is on pace to stop and question a record half a million citizens this year – about 80% of them black or Latino, a new report says.

…Commissioner Paul Browne, the NYPD’s chief spokesman, said the number of minorities who were singled out under the policy is consistent with overall descriptions by race provided by victims and surviving witnesses of crime.

WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?? This post-racial racist Paul Browne has directly contradicted himself in these two quotes. If stops and searches are done at random, the racial breakdown of those stopped should reflect the racial makeup of NYC. So if instead, the NYPD have decided to stop people based on other criteria, i.e. since according to Browne they are stopping people based on race and the NYPD’s opinion as to which races are more likely to commit crimes, the NYPD is conducting racial profiling.

It reminds me of when I used to work with Somalis. They reported that their appearance, which comes from a history of African and Arab ancestors (oh no, what a scary, scary combo!), in addition with their Muslim-sounding names meant that they got ‘randomly’ stopped for extended searches and questioning almost every time they traveled by plane. The TSA officers always stressed to them that the stops were ‘random’.

Well, I guess we all now know that random has a new meaning, along the lines of “totally deliberate.”